Linehouse brings Canadian calm to Shibuya

July 10, 2018

Text Kirsten Geekie

Tokyo – As one approaches the recently opened Herschel flagship, the slatted timber façade conjures images of the Pacific Northwest more than the bustling streets of Shibuya. The vertical columns are placed at an angle, revealing from one side a mélange of blue hues and from the other, raw timber. Designed by Shanghai-based studio Linehouse, the façade and interior distills the active dynamics within Vancouver – a young, creative city surrounded by sea, trees and mountains.

In the same vein, the interior borrows fragments from the city´s diverse urban and natural landscape by incorporating its colours and textures. Materials like stainless steel, mirrored walls and concrete are a sampling of the city´s skyscraper-dense skyline, while the wide-panel, natural wood flooring reflects its rich, temperate rainforests. Blue has been used as a visual representation of the city´s nature: mimicking the deep royal blue of the Pacific ocean in a cashier desk made of acrylic panels and framed with brushed stainless steel; and the sky blue of the mountains in the timber slats that are brought from the outside in.

By so closely linking the retail space design to the geographical DNA of Herschel, Linehouse creates a strong visual identity for the company´s first flagship in Asia.